New gasket, dome alignment, frustration...

UPinSMOKE

After nearly five years of "Egging It" on my deck, I realized my gasket was toast. Well, to be honest, it's been toast for quite awhile since discovering the Trex method of cooking. :-)

Linda and I drove to the Mother Ship early this past Saturday and bought a new gasket (felt), a smaller V-rack to give us more grill area, the new BGE Cookbook, a new baking stone to replace the one that fell off the deck, a new to me cast iron grate and headed home.

By the time I started scraping what was left of the old gasket off Saturday afternoon, the sun was up high, the temps were bouncing off around 92 with matching humidity, and even my modest beer supply could not keep up with my fluid losses. Long story short, I went to the basement, grabbed the Li-Ion Makita drill with a large brass wire 'spinner' brush and what had already taken up about 30 minutes of time was finished in about 10 minutes flat. A little cleanup with acetone, then a spritz of 3M '77' spray and 5 minutes later the Egg was re-gasketed.

I noticed the "overbite" I had asked about here about a year or more ago had grown a little worse, so I spent most of Sunday afternoon while they raced at Michigan researching this topic here on the site.

It's now Monday and I've spent the last couple of hours trying to eradicate the overbite on my Medium Egg, with a small improvement.

Here's what I did..please feel free to add some suggestions ;-)

Since it is about mid-80's and steamy, I took the easy way first, just loosening the nut on the stove bolt that holds the top band. (I did zip tie the hinge together but still do not know exactly why). I was able to get the steel band moved up a tad higher where it should be but tightening it up again caused it to slip back down. If I'd had about 4 hands, it would have been a tad easier. I re-tightened the four nuts.... no joy.

I then loosened the four nuts back near the hinge (top band only), the stove bolt nut, repositioned the steel band, and gently snugged up the four bolts, then the stove bolt, yet still no joy. Maybe a hair better, but the dollar bill test flunked miserably. From standing at the handle, it's tight from 1 o'clock to 5:00; but loose as a goose from 6 to 11:00.

Method number 3 was this....

Loosened the stove bolts on both bands. Loosened all 8 nuts near the hinges, upper and lower bands. Aligned the dome to where it was perfect. I then slowly tightened two bolts on one side in a cross hatch method (like the lug nuts on a tire), just snugging them up a little each time while holding the dome in place. After about 4 'snugs' on each bolt, alternating back and forth from side to side, I then tightened up the stove bolts very snugly. I snipped the zip ties, the dome was where it should be, and I then SLOWLY lifted the dome while watching the hinge and I saw it kick towards the 9:00 position again.

AAaaaarrrgggghhhhhh..... it didn't kick over nearly as much as it was, so I guess I can call this a modest success.

Heck, it's been out of whack since I bought it 5 years ago. (I bought it assembled on Christams Eve). No video, no little plastic thingie to put on the hinge bolts...hence the zip tie.

I am soaked to the shorts right now looking at through the window. It is a little better, maybe by half? But the dollar bill still slides easily from 6:30 to 11:00, then it gets tight from there to about 4:00 where it starts to lose resistance.

I am still planning on cooking two great looking moderately marbled NY strip steaks via the Trex method tonight as soon as Linda gets home. If it leaks, it leaks. If the felt get toasted at 800 degrees, so be it. I'll just ignore it like I have the past 4 or so years and enjoy all the culinary delights I have cooked on it so far. I never grilled much since getting the Egg, Linda did most of that on our old yet still functioning bright red Weber. Since the Egg has arrived though, I do everything on it, something I am sure she enjoys :-)

Hot and steamy, yet not quite still satisfied curing my Egg's overbite... in Buford. But I am ready to just put it behind me and move on! There's cooking to do.......

Thanks for any input! :-)

Pat

sireggsalot

I'm a newbie, but I recommend http://www.fredsmusicandbbq.com/
Give those guys a look and a call, they have a nomax gasket that's very nice, and knowledgeable guys on staff to help with the overbite.

Capt Frank

Pat, if I understand you correctly you have a sideways overbite, true? If so, the only thing that come to my mind is unequal spring tension. Only way I can think of to test this theory would be to swap sides with the springs and see if the overbite moves to the other side.

Probably worth a call to the mothership service dept before going through that hassle.

One thing, when you are positioning your bands you need to be sure the bottom band is all the way down, then adjust the top one so that the space between the bands is equal all the way around. Just pushing the top one all the way up won't work.
Hope this helps

Capt Frank
Homosassa, FL

UPinSMOKE

Hey Frank!

Thanks for the fast reply. Yes, my 'overbite is from side to side, not really front to back. I just looked at those springs and they look like could hurt if you are not very careful with them.

I am just wondering if a call to the Mother Ship is not in order...heck, it's only 25 minutes from here and I'd be glad to load her up and take it to them if they would be willing to look at it.

It is a little better now, the overbite isn't as pronounced but it definitely lines up with everything loosened and it 'jumps' out of alignment when you raise the dome. Am I just being too anal about it? :-) It's worked beautifully other than cooking gaskets all this time...maybe I need to leave well enough alone?

Pat

Capt Frank

No, I don't think you are being to anal, I think you have a real issue. As much as EGGs cost, they ought to fit together properly. I have had no direct dealings with the mothership, but I think they feel the same way.
I have two Larges, one here in Florida and one at my girlfriends house in Cincinnati. The one here has seen the most use, but both are well eggsperienced! :laugh: I have never had an alignment problem with either one, they will both pass the dollar bill test today just like they did when I assembled them.
I am only saying this to make the point that mis-alignment is not right and you should not have to live with it

Capt Frank
Homosassa, FL

2Fategghead

If you do go and they fix it. Let us know the process they took and post it. Take you camara and take pic's. That is if you do anything about it. Tim

fire egger

I have had the same problem with one of my larges,I have spent the last few weeks intermitantly ignoring it and trying to figure it out. it started when I took them apart to move them.
Sat, I loosened the hinge bolts slightly ( the ones on the side that hold the hinge pieces together) and so far the dome is in alignment, DB test is good. if you do go to the mothership, please share what you learn,
thanks,

MAC

Ditto! I replaced my bands(same bands) and installed egg mate tables. Mine would not seat in the back. I also tried everything and then . . . THEN found out my hinge bolts were loose. I thightened them and all is well